Press Release-IV-07-039, NRC Proposes $3,250 Fine for R&M Engineering, Inc
| ML072970367 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03022284 |
| Issue date: | 10/24/2007 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region IV |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-IV-07-039 | |
| Download: ML072970367 (2) | |
Text
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, Texas 76011-4005 No. IV-07-039 October 24, 2007
Contact:
Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: (817) 860-8128 NRC PROPOSES $3,250 FINE FOR R&M ENGINEERING, INC.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a fine of $3,250 against R&M Engineering, Inc. of Juneau, Alaska, for violating NRC requirements.
In an Oct. 23 letter to the company, NRC Region IV Administrator E. Collins said that as a result of an NRC inspection, the agency determined that the company violated NRC requirements for the possession and use of radioactive materials.
On Aug. 19, 2006, a company employee left a portable gauge containing radioactive materials unsecured in the bed of a pickup truck in the companys parking lot for several minutes when he went into an office to retrieve some paperwork. In a separate incident later that day, a portable gauge containing radioactive materials fell out of the back of a company vehicle driven by the same individual on a public highway. The gauge was retrieved by a member of the public and promptly returned, but it was not under the company employees direct control and constant surveillance for a short period of time.
The NRC considers the loss of licensed materials significant, even for short periods of time, Collins said in a letter to the company. Although there were no actual safety consequences resulting from this violation, the failure to maintain adequate security of portable gauges and the loss of the gauge could have resulted in unintended radiation doses to members of the public if the sealed sources were moved from the locked and shielded position.
NRC discussed the violations, their significance, the root cause and the companys corrective actions during an enforcement conference with the company on Oct. 4. The company has taken steps to prevent recurrence.
The company has 30 days to either pay the proposed fine or challenge it and 10 days in which to request alternative dispute resolution. The NRCs letter, its enclosures and the companys response will be available through the agencys public document reading room at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in accessing these documents is available from the NRCs Public Document Room by calling 1-800-397-4209.
NRC news releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html . The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.